


Duelist

by TheArtisticIntrovert



Series: YGO Realistic!AU [11]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Autistic Mutou Yuugi, Duelist Kingdom Arc, F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Realistic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:41:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22566463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArtisticIntrovert/pseuds/TheArtisticIntrovert
Summary: Two months after Death-T, Mutou Yuugi has come to terms with the fact he has a spirit possessing him. Unfortunately, now he has to deal with persistent police interrogators, a drifting childhood friend, and Kaiba Seto being in a magical, irreversible coma. Add in Bakura being shifty and a new Duel Monsters tournament, and you have a recipe for disaster.Welcome, to Duelist Kingdom.
Relationships: Mutou Keiko (OFC)/Mutou Ren (OFC)
Series: YGO Realistic!AU [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/575992
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38





	1. mystery box in the mail let's go lads

**Author's Note:**

> IT LIVES
> 
> bet y'all didn't know i was writing the duelist kingdom arc huh

Yuugi liked to believe he was a patient person. He kinda had to be, what with his self-imposed pacifism. But even he had a limit to the amount of sheer stupidity he could take before losing his temper, and Officer Whosit wasn’t making it any better. True, Yuugi could be less....... _prickly,_ but the man’s been asking the same questions for a _week_ now, and he was getting tired of it. He already got the third degree every other week from Dr. Akiyama, he didn’t need some tight-ass officer he couldn’t be bothered to remember the name of joining the ranks of people who just wouldn’t shut the fuck _up._

“For the last time, _sir,_ I wasn’t anywhere near Karita-sensei last week. I was at home, and both my parents and my grandfather can tell you the same thing!” Yuugi bit out, just barely managing to restrain himself from shouting. He hated the fact that the officer was looking down on him. He wasn’t even being subtle about it either, the way most people taller than him would be. No, the dude was standing in the back of the room with his arms crossed, looming over not only Yuugi, but the vice-principal as well. The vice-principal (what was his name again?) shifted nervously, scratching his cheek in discomfort.

“Now Inspector, m-maybe we should let Mutou-kun go home for the day? He’s rather insistent he had nothing to do with Karita-sensei’s......unfortunate situation, and if I remember correctly you need to actually charge him with something to continue interrogating him?” he said, darting a worried glance at Yuugi. Honestly, Yuugi would appreciate the man standing up for him, since he’s never really had a _decent_ relationship with the vice-principal (being a slacker with a bad reputation would do that), but......the look in his eyes said it all. He wasn’t helping Yuugi because he _believed_ him, he just didn’t want to end up on the wrong end of his temper......just like most everyone else that bullied Yuugi.

The inspector scowled, but acquiesced. There was nothing more he could ask Yuugi, not here anyway, but that didn’t stop him from giving Yuugi a suspicious glare on the way out. Once the door was shut behind him, Yuugi relaxed slightly. It was getting to be a chore, holding back the Spirit when this kept happening. It’s like he was chomping at the bit, reacting not only to Yuugi’s anger, but at the whole situation, nevermind the fact it was his fault in the first place. Yuugi scowled down at the Puzzle, unable to help himself. “Was there anything else you needed, Vice-Principal?” he asked, glancing up at the man through his bangs.

Apparently, the Vice-Principal didn’t like whatever he saw in Yuugi’s eyes, because he paled drastically and waved him out. Yuugi didn’t even have the energy to be sad or annoyed, so he just nodded respectfully and stood to leave. “Actually, Mutou-kun, one more thing?” Yuugi paused, hand on the doorknob. “Next time you see Bakura-kun.....please tell him to come to my office. It’s not urgent, but....I have something I would like to speak with him about.” Yuugi nodded once, heart in his throat. He didn’t stick around to ask what it was about, probably something personal judging by the fact the Vice-Principal didn’t just call Bakura over the intercom, but.....yeah. He couldn’t help but worry.

Still, he was hungry and had a bunch of English homework to catch up on so that Chouno-sensei left him alone. He didn’t push it, opting instead to begin the long, lonely trek home. Normally he’d walk with Anzu, but....she seemed to be avoiding him lately. Again. He’d thought they were over that after Death-T, but apparently not.

He glared at his shoe locker as he swapped over, lost in thought. He only had the vaguest idea of what had happened there, but he did remember telling Anzu and Jounouchi about the Spirit. Emotions ran too high after that for him to remember clearly what had happened, but _something_ had to happen, right? Anzu had been spending more time with him after that, until sometime in February when she just......stopped. Sure, she still talked to him in class, but that’s _class._ He missed the days where they’d just hang out in his room, playing the Famicom, eating chips, gossiping.....he missed his best friend. She’d been drifting for years, but....for some reason, he’d taken her for granted. Now she might never come back, and it’d be too late to apologize for all the times he’d assumed she would always be there.

Yuugi’s musing was cut short by someone slamming the locker next to him, startling him enough that he whipped around with an elbow out on instinct, catching Jounouchi in the gut. He paled, backing up slightly. “J-Jounouchi-kun! Sorry, you scared me! Are you alright?!” he asked, hands waving frantically as he tried to assess the damage. Jounouchi groaned good naturedly, rubbing his ribs gently.

“Damn bro, you got some bony-ass elbows! I’m fine, I’m fine, my bad for sneakin’ up on ya. Just wanted to catch ya before y’left for the day, and you were a bit more lost in dreamland than I thought,” he said, grinning widely. Yuugi relaxed a bit, glad he hadn’t hurt Jounouchi. A small, dark corner of his mind whispered about how Jounouchi was lucky it was a Thursday, because he’s been finding knives in his pockets recently and no matter how many times he threw them out, they always came back. “Anyway dude, listen. Y’know that new Magic and Monsters or whatever game everyone’s playing?” he asked. Yuugi nodded, raising an eyebrow.

“You mean Duel Monsters?” he asked. Jounouchi clicked his fingers, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Duel Monsters! Right, that’s the one. Anyway, I wanna get into it but......well, t’put it bluntly, I suck. Like, major suck. No matter what I do, I can’t win a single match! Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong? Hell, _Mazaki_ beat me, and all her monsters look like desserts!” he ranted, falling into step beside Yuugi as they headed for the game shop. Yuugi snorted, burying his nose in his scarf. 

“I mean, I can help, but wait ‘til we get back to my place, yeah? I dunno about you, but I don’t feel like dragging your deck out of a storm drain because you were impatient,” he chuckled. Jounouchi scoffed, nudging him gently, but agreed. They spiralled off into a conversation about nothing in particular, and Yuugi managed to forget the unease he felt about Anzu, just for a moment.

Of course, Jounouchi brought the mood down a second later when he asked what the vice-principal wanted. “I mean, he’s got you in there like every other day now. _I_ don’t even get sent to the old man’s office that often, did something happen?” Yuugi scowled, harshly kicking a rock and watching as it skittered into the street.

“It’s the fuckin’ cops again,” he grumbled, burying his face further into his scarf. “This time it’s about Karita-sensei, they think I’m the one who put him in the coma. No matter how many times I say I was at home, they don’t believe me.” He scoffed, crossing his arms. “I mean, it’s fair to assume it was me, but it really wasn’t this time. I haven’t blacked out at all this month! Lost time, sure, but not blacked out. It’s all fuckin’ moot though, I was at home having a game night with my family. It was Mom’s birthday, and Mama made sure to be home for it. She’s not home too often, so I wasn’t gonna miss that!” He huffed again, glaring at the sidewalk. “It’s just.....ugh. I just wanna know why they’re so on my ass about it lately. Like, they don’t give a shit when I’m gettin’ my ass handed to me, but as soon as some people go missing, or Himura starts running his mouth they care?” He sighed, peeking over at Jounouchi. “Sorry, you....probably didn’t wanna hear all that complaining,” he muttered.

“Don’t worry about it man, I get it. People......suck. I really am sorry that I was one of those assholes, and it really is shitty that they only care now that you’re the one gettin’ in trouble.” He sighed, stretching his arms behind his head. “I heard a rumor that Ushio was out of the hospital, so maybe he’s the one behind it? The sudden interest, I mean. Bastard always did hold a grudge.....” he muttered. the conversation tapered off then, both of them too down and unwilling to continue. The rest of the walk to the game shop passed in silence, both of them lost in thought until it was broken by the cheerful tinkling of the shop bell. 

“Oh, Yuugi, Jounouchi-kun! Welcome back!” Grandpa called, carefully making his way down from the ladder he was standing on. Yuugi winced slightly when the ladder wobbled, but Grandpa apparently feared no god nor man, as he nimbly hopped off the rickety ladder like a man fifty years his junior. “Are we still watching the tournament finals tonight? Kei-chan is home tonight, so she and Ren-chan will join us,” he said. Yuugi’s eyes lit up, and he smiled brightly.

“Mama’s home?! Awesome! Yeah, let’s watch the finals, but I gotta help Jou-kun with somethin’ first,” he cheered, bad mood forgotten entirely. He grinned at Jounouchi, nudging him gently in the ribs. “Looks like you’ll get to meet Mama sooner than I’d thought! Wanna stay for dinner?” he asked. Jounouchi laughed, startled, but agreed.

“Man, I ain’t gonna say no to free food! I’m an idiot but I ain’t stupid!” he laughed, nodding to Grandpa before heading for the stairs, kicking the snow off his sneakers on the mat. Grandpa stopped Yuugi before he could follow, pulling a box out from behind the counter.

“This came for you earlier, I didn’t know you ordered something?” he said. Yuugi frowned, eyeballing the box.

“Yeah.....I didn’t either.” He looked closer at the shipping label, hefting it out of Grandpa’s arms. “There’s no name on the return address.....whoever sent it really didn’t want me knowing who it was,” he muttered. Unbidden, his mind snapped back to Kaiba. He was just extra enough to do something like this, and if it weren’t for the fact Yuugi _knew_ Kaiba was in a coma, he would’ve blamed it on him. He shook his head, resolving to ignore those thoughts for now. He couldn’t do anything about it, and despite all his searching, he didn’t know how to reverse the magic that kept Kaiba hostage in his own mind. “I’ll figure it out later. Thanks for holding it, Grandpa,” he said, gently knocking his head against Grandpa’s shoulder. “Is Mama home now, or is she still at work?”

“She’s at work, Ren-chan went to meet her at the station. They should be home around 6, Ren-chan said they were going to do some shopping while they were out.” Grandpa sighed, cracking his back with a startling pop. “Ah, young love. I just hope they don’t get so caught up they forget about the finals. I have it on record, but some things are just so much better live, you know?” he laughed. Yuugi chuckled, nodding.

“Ain’t that the truth. Anyway, I’ll be in my room. My arms are tired, and Jou-kun and I still need to do homework and everything,” he said, heading for the stairs. 

He didn’t notice Grandpa’s smile dropping slightly as he watched Yuugi go, an immense, undefinable sadness in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a few things to address here
> 
> 1) yuugi has two moms. Mutou Keiko is sugoroku's daughter, she works weird hours, and is rarely home. Mutou Ren is the mom we saw most often in Zero (remember that fic? yeah), and she mostly stays home and helps in the shop. keiko (kei for short) works in tokyo, so she and yuugi rarely get to see each other.
> 
> 2) yeah yuugi swore. he swears in canon (yes, _yuugi,_ not just yny) but i feel like he'd swear more often around jou
> 
> 3) just because someone is a pacifist and chooses not to fight, instincts are instincts. i don't like confrontation or fighting either, but i can't go to haunted houses bc i'll definitely punch someone in the throat.
> 
> 4) finally, death-t. i went back and forth on this one for a while, because i realized halfway through that i never wrote death-t for this universe. turns out i did, actually. the story is titled "Christmas Eve" and is actually technically part of the Swordsverse, my ygo/p5 crossover series. however, the rau and swords take place in the same canon in my mind, the only difference being the phantom thieves don't exist in the rau main canon (swords is....sort of an offshoot). so rather than write it AGAIN, just....go read that and feel free to delete the part where it talks about the phantom thieves. everything happens the same as it would in this au. got it? great


	2. just dudes bein bros

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!” 

Yuugi didn’t mean to shout, but this was one of the most _terribly_ balanced decks he’d ever seen. Even worse, Jounouchi didn’t seem to notice the problem. “What? I packed it full’a the strongest monsters I could get my hands on!” he defended, rolling over on Yuugi’s carpet. 

Yuugi glared at him, bapping him gently over the head with the stack of monster cards (he refused to call that monstrosity a _deck)._ “You idiot! Duel Monsters is about _strategy,_ not brute-forcing it! You gotta combine your monsters with spells and traps, it’s no wonder you’re getting stomped by Anzu! She’s got one of the most magic-focused decks I’ve ever seen!” he shouted, flopping off his bed to rummage around underneath. He shoved aside a stack of magazines, pulling out a dusty box of unwanted cards he got from booster packs. “Here, look through these and find some spells and shit you like. Do _not_ add a single monster card until we restructure your deck or I swear to god Jounouchi Katsuya that Maxamillion Pegasus himself cannot save you from my wrath,” he warned, picking a piece of lint out of his hair and shoving the box at Jounouchi. “I’m gonna go change and take my contacts out, snacks are where they usually are. I’ll be back in a minute,” he grunted, grabbing his pajamas and heading for the bathroom.

Once the door closed, he sagged like a deflating balloon, letting himself feel the pain from his newest bruises for just a moment before trudging down the hallway. Mama still didn’t know about all the bullshit that was going on, and Grandpa only knew about the Spirit, same as Jounouchi. And not a single one of them knew about what had happened at Bakura’s apartment, not even Bakura himself. He still shuddered remembering the Spirit wearing his skin as he traversed the board alone. Still remembered the horrifying, manic grin on Bakura’s blushing face.

Still remembered the blood and bones, as Bakura’s spirit impaled his own hand on a castle tower.

He shuddered, shoving those thoughts away. The last thing he needed was to get nightmares again, he already had enough trouble sleeping as it was. Right now, he needed to change, maybe take a quick shower, before going back to Jounouchi. He’d just bottle it up and ignore it, like he did with everything these days.

After all, it’s not like anyone would believe him.

\--

He came back to Jounouchi having raided his snack drawer, grumbling and sorting through cards. Every so often, he’d eat a seaweed chip, thankfully wiping his fingers before touching the cards again. A small stack of spell and trap cards lay next to him, surprising Yuugi a bit. He didn’t expect Jou to actually look through his cards, let alone actually take his advice. Though, that wasn’t really fair, was it? Despite how he’d been in the past, Jounouchi was actually kinder now. Sure he was rough and abrasive, and had some strange ideas on what made a man, but he really was a good friend. Looking over him, lying on the floor without a care in the world, Yuugi wasn’t afraid. For once in his life, he wasn’t afraid.

He smiled softly, plopping down across from Jou and carefully hiding a wince when he landed weird. “Find some stuff?” he asked, nodding to the spell cards.

Jou groaned, faceplanting into the carpet and holding up another small stack of cards. “Why d’you have so fuckin’ _many?”_ he whined, voice muffled by the carpet. Yuugi snorted, shaking his head. 

“Grandpa. He gave me a bunch for Christmas, when the shop first got the stock in. I actually haven’t opened most of these, so thanks for that. Lord knows I wasn’t gonna do it,” he laughed, rummaging around in the snack drawer and pulling out a hidden Lipovitan can. He cracked it and took a swig, nose wrinkling when some carbonation fizzed in his nostril.

Jou groaned and sat up, leaning back against the bed. “Yeah, whatever you little demon. Anyway, I found some but a lot of ‘em seem to need specific monster cards? What’s up with that?” he asked. 

Yuugi scooted closer, wincing when he rolled over his foot. “Some decks have themes and stuff, like you build it all around one ace monster or an archetype. Pegasus, the dude who made the game, I’m pretty sure he said he uses a Toon-type deck. So that means that his monsters, spells, and traps all work around the Toon World card. 

“Some cards only work on cards in their typeset. So like, I’ve been working on a spellcaster deck, and some of the spells only work on spellcaster-type monsters. Like the Book of Spells, it increases ATK, but only if your card is the right type.” He sighed, realizing he wasn’t explaining this well at all. His brain, unfortunately, seemed to be taking a vacation today. “Okay, lemme try again. So this one?” he said, picking up one of the cards Jounouchi was looking at, a field spell called Sogen. “This is a field spell. When you play it, it stays on the field, right?” he said. Jou nodded, raising an eyebrow. “But it only affects warrior and beast-warrior type monsters, like this one,” he added, rummaging through the box until he found a slightly wrinkled “Man Beast of Ares”. He pointed to the info box, tapping a nail lightly on the title. “See here? It tells you what type of monster card this is.” He took a quick riffle through Jounouchi’s deck, nodding firmly. “And your deck is mostly warrior cards, so you’d want spell cards that mostly deal with those. A good bet is to make sure the cards either are all-encompassing, or that they mention warrior and slash or beast-warrior types specifically.” He handed the cards back, running a hand through his hair. “It’s confusing, I’m not gonna lie. It took me ages poring over the manual to get this far, so don’t worry if you still lose a bit.” He flopped backwards, deftly dodging his desk chair, huffing slightly as he hit the ground.

“So basically, just focus on types n’ all that?” Jou asked. Yuugi wiggled a hand in the air, making a sorta “nyehhhh?” noise. “Well, obviously a bit more than that smartass,” he grunted, shoving Yuugi gently with his foot. “Whatever, you got a good number for how many’a these I should put in?” he asked, digging through the box again.

“I’d recommend about ten to fifteen monster cards, and five each of spells and traps. If you find repeat cards though, make sure to include those, it increases the odds of you drawing them. Make sure not to put too many that’re over level five, that’s the stars up top, because then you might end up with a dud hand where you can’t summon anything. Powerful monsters don’t mean jack if you can’t do anything with ‘em, after all.” He flopped his hand around, rolling to the side to take another sip of his drink. “And beyond that, I got nothing. Standard deck limit is 40 cards, 30 if you’re in a tournament, but I’d say stay right around 25 at the absolute most, just because the more cards you have the worse your odds are,” he added.

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mi-woah, what the hell happened to yer ribs?!” Jou yelped. Yuugi blinked, confused.

“My ribs?” he asked, sitting up and peering at his stomach. He just saw fading bruises and a half-healed cut, nothing to get worked up over. “The hell are you talking about?” he asked. “My ribs are fine.”  
  


 _“Fine?!_ Bro if that’s your idea of fine, I’d hate to see what your idea of fucked is. Did you even get any help wrapping that cut?! It looks like it needs stitches!” he said, panicking. Yuugi glanced at the door sharply, trying to get Jou to calm down.

_“Shh!_ Do you _want_ all of Tokyo to hear you?!” he hissed. “It doesn’t need stitches, trust me! I used that skin-glue shit, it’s fine. They didn’t get anything important, and the bruising’ll clear up in a few days. What’s the problem? I’m always injured!” he said, keeping an eye on the door.

Jou snorted derisively, rolling his eyes. “Yuug, no offense but you’re more banged up than middle-school me on a bad day. How long has this been going on?” he asked, folding his arms in tightly. Honestly, it looked like he was trying to hold himself together so he didn’t run off and beat the shit out of Yuugi’s bullies. A touching thought, but an outcome Yuugi desperately wanted to avoid.

Yuugi sighed, picking at the edge of his peeling nail polish. “It’s.....been happening pretty much all year,” he admitted. “It’s the Spirit, you know what he’s like. Before it was just bullies, but after Inogashira, I started having people using me as a ‘measuring stick’,” he muttered. He shuddered slightly, even the thought of Inogashira turning his stomach as he recalled the stench of burning flesh. “It’s a lotta people, and I don’t know who most of them are since it’s mostly the Spirit that does the fighting, but Kumakano’s cornered me a few times.” He rubbed at the scar on his forearm absently, chewing on his lip. He shook his head, trying to drive the thoughts out of his head. “The point is, I’ve had worse, and it’s healing fine, so I don’t see the problem. Telling somebody would make it worse, if they even believed me in the first place. For all I know, if I told an adult they’d just say I probably started the fight and came crying because I lost,” he muttered. Sometimes, looking like he did was more trouble than it was worth.

Jou sighed explosively, flopping back in a tangle of limbs. “You’re right, but I hate that you’re right. I ain’t about to tell ya to change your look, fuck knows I’m the last person to be preachin’ on that, but it’s still shitty that they can’t look past the skin, ya know?” he huffed, blowing a stray bang out of his face.

Yuugi snorted, glaring up at the stars on his ceiling. “That was almost poetic, if you ignore the last part,” he teased, laughing when Jou shot up and chucked a pillow at him. The heavy topic and still-healing wounds were thankfully forgotten in the ensuing pillow fight, not to be touched on again until much, much later.

Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my duel monsters knowledge comes from duel links so if it's not accurate i apologize. the card limit thing is part based on duel links (30 cards per deck), part on irl tourneys (40 per deck), and part on my own experiences (getting absolutely decimated bc i had too many cards and drew a shit hand)
> 
> also i hc jou as being at least part american (probably half), and his hair is naturally blond. kumakano is an oc i made up, he's the main one of yuugi's bullies. him and the cut yuugi talks about were mentioned in "Zero", during yny's session with dr. akiyama. inogashira is an actual s0 character though, he's from chapter 6 of the manga ("burning struggle to the death") and yuugi canonically has no idea what happens to him (since he was unconscious when yny did the whole shadow game thing)
> 
> i have a ref of yuugi for this au, let me know if you want me to post it bc i don't think i ever did. i think that's everything, but if you have questions feel free to drop me a line in the comments! or do that even if you don't have questions, i starve for comments.
> 
> EDIT 04/03/20: someone said a ref would be cool, so here you go! mobile users might need to scroll, i don't wanna make it too small. the art is old, but it still works. next chapter is........in the works?


	3. Nationals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't @ me for the duel explanation i was ripping my hair out
> 
> duel monsters wasn't meant to make sense at this point in the manga, and i only barely managed to write it in a way that was true to the source material while still _working,_ which is part of why this chapter took so long.
> 
> the rest of why this chapter took so long is bc miss rona stress, election stress, general depression, and school stress all took turns beating me with the bat these last few months.

They waited as long as they could, but it quickly became apparent that Ren and Keiko had forgotten that they were supposed to be home by 4:45, too caught up in their impromptu date to remember. Which was fine, they’d still be home eventually, it just sucked that they missed the live showing. They couldn’t wait any longer though, and so the three of them plopped down on the couch, popcorn in hand, ready to watch the finals. Jounouchi seemed pumped, or more pumped than usual at least, plopping down in a sprawl of limbs on the ground by the couch. Yuugi hopped up onto the couch next to Grandpa, either ignoring or not noticing how the man stiffened up slightly when he did. They settled in and turned on the TV just in time to catch the last commercial break before the finals.

As they watched the dancing mascots on the muted TV, Jounouchi looked up at Yuugi. “Hey Yuugi, these were open to everyone in Japan, right? How come you didn’t enter?” he asked. Yuugi froze, eye twitching a bit as static buzzed warningly at the back of his mind.

“I, um.......I don’t......I don’t want what happened to Kaiba to happen again,” he managed. “Last time I dueled, Kaiba went into that coma and I don’t remember how. I think it was  _ him,  _ but.....I’m still not sure. I don’t want to risk it happening again,” he added softly. Jounouchi nodded, looking away.

“Right......sorry for bringin’ it up,” he said, nudging Yuugi’s knee with his shoulder. Yuugi smiled faintly, unmuting the TV as the last commercial ended, choosing not to address the elephant in the room. If he didn’t think about it, maybe it would just go away. Unlikely, but he could hope. They listened to the announcer introduce the finalists in silence, the atmosphere suddenly extremely strained. Yuugi managed to shake off the bone nausea, tuning back into reality in time to hear the man introduce two of the meanest looking nerds he’s ever seen. Both had dumb nicknames, though he supposed that was more for their own privacy, since they were minors and all. 

“Jeez, were we that small at 14?” he muttered, looking at how Haga’s legs barely touched the ground below his chair. Jou laughed, the atmosphere suddenly a lot less oppressive.

“Yug’, you’re  _ still  _ that small!” he teased. Yuugi blushed, shoving his shoulder gently. Jounouchi just laughed louder, grinning widely. He’d take the teasing if it meant things stopped being awful, so he didn’t argue. They watched the trash talk, all three leaning forward when the duel commenced. “Yuugi, who do you think will win?” Jou asked, nose almost touching the screen.

“Well, Ryuzaki has the overwhelming power of the dinosaurs in his deck, but Haga relies mostly on trap and equip cards, so he can power up his relatively low-levelled monsters easily. Really it depends on who can get their strategy set up first,” Yuugi said, resting his arms on Jou’s head as he leaned forward.

“If it’s between insects and dinosaurs, I know who I’m putting my bets on!” Jou said, but he didn’t take his eyes off the screen. 

Ryuzaki played “Two-Headed King Rex”, a holographic version of the monster appearing behind him.  _ “Eat this, Bug Boy!”  _ he snapped, grinning madly. The dinosaur, in turn, roared menacingly. Yuugi’s eyes were wide as he took in the hologram, surprised Kaiba managed to get this far with his technology so quickly. Did he focus on anything else during the last few months? He’d said he was inspired by his first duel with the Spirit, but that was months before Death-T! Yuugi would be the first to admit he wasn’t that good with technology when it wasn’t about games, but even he figured it had to take longer than that for  _ working  _ hologram tech to not only be ready for use, but also to be used by a televised national tournament.

In response, Haga played “Basic Insect”, a holographic grasshopper shimmering into view on top of the card. He laid a card facedown, ending his turn with a little grin on his face. “Ha! What’s with  _ that _ wimpy card?” Jou crowed, laughing slightly.

“Hey, remember what I taught you earlier! Duel Monsters isn’t  _ just  _ about the raw strength of your monsters! Look, Haga set a card, right? It’s gotta be a trap of some sort!” Yuugi said, pointing out the card. Jou squinted at the screen, backing up a touch when the CRT static fizzed warningly on the tip of his nose. 

“Oh, you’re right! I see it now!” he said, leaning back so Grandpa could see better. Yuugi scooted with him, curling up on the couch like a cat.

_ “Kill him, King Rex! Attack that bug!”  _ Ryuzaki crowed, apparently not having seen the trap, or just not caring enough about it. The hologram dinosaur went to attack, mouths open and roaring, but stopped when Haga let out a sinister little cackle.

_ “Attack, you say? Keh heh heh....You’ve activated my trap, bonehead! ‘Infinite Dismissal!’ Say goodbye to your King Rex, as it’s sucked into the whirlpool of time, frozen for eternity!”  _ Haga cackled, flipping over his trap card. A whirlpool appeared under King Rex, a skeletal hand reaching out and grabbing the dinosaur by the tail and dragging it under. Both dino and whirlpool disappeared, amid the roaring of the crowd. 

_ “A trap card, right off the bat folks! This isn’t looking good for Ryuzaki, with no monsters left on the field, Haga can get in a shot with his bug before Ryuzaki can counter!”  _ the announcer cried. Ryuzaki growled and ended his turn, glaring across the table warily at his opponent. Haga laughed again, pushing his glasses up with one finger.

_ “It’s my turn,”  _ he said, grin growing wider.  _ “I power up my Basic Insect with not one, but  _ **_two_ ** _ “Insect Gun Armor 5’s!”  _ He played two cards, the grasshopper getting loaded down with two giant laser cannons. Its eyes glinted meanly, staring down Ryuzaki across the table. He gulped, sweating slightly, though he knew that the bug couldn’t do any damage in reality......but it was hard to argue the point when you were staring down a murderous, laser-equipped giant grasshopper.  _ “And now, since your King Rex is off the field, I attack your life points directly!”  _ Haga crowed, pointing dramatically. The lasers charged up and fired, dissipating before they  _ actually  _ hit Ryuzaki, though he tumbled out of his chair in shock nonetheless.

_ “A-And....That’s it! That’s game! Insector Haga has won the National Duel Monsters Championship!”  _ the announcer cried, looking a little pale. Haga reached down to help Ryuzaki up, the menacing air from before seeming almost entirely gone now.  _ “Here to give you the trophy and prize money is a special guest. May I introduce, the creator of Duel Monsters and president of Industrial Illusions, Maximilian J. Pegasus!”  _ the announcer said, gesturing grandly to a door off to the side of the arena as Haga and Ryuzaki left the hologram booth. 

From a cloud of fog entered the aforementioned man, smiling politely from behind his curtain of silver hair. He was holding a golden trophy cup, which he presented to a blushing Haga with a flourish.  _ “Congratulations!”  _ he said, a slight accent peeking through in his speech. Haga stuttered a thank you, obviously not sure what to do with the man so close.  _ “You simply  _ **_must_ ** _ come to the tournament my company is sponsoring!”  _ he added, smiling brighter than the sun. The camera focused back on the announcer as he signed off the program, but nobody was listening anymore.

“Insector Haga, eh? Can’t say I’m surprised,” Grandpa mused, startling Yuugi. Honestly, he’d been so focused on the duel that he’d forgotten Grandpa was there at all!

“Same! It’s amazing how Haga managed to end the duel so quickly, I never would’ve thought of using  _ two  _ equip cards!” Yuugi said, bouncing in his seat. Jou cheered loudly, jumping up from his seat and doing a little dance as he turned to face Yuugi.

“I totally get what you were saying earlier now. Ryuzaki had that big ol’ dino, but Haga took ‘em out with one little bug! Yuug, train me in traps!” he said, flapping his hands rapidly to get rid of some nervous energy. Yuugi smiled and agreed, too caught up in the fervor of the duel to acknowledge the dark pit in his stomach at the thought of duelling again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> btw this is gonna be a LOT longer than zero, since i'm gonna have duelist cover the duelist kingdom arc and the battle city arc. i can't wait honestly, you can already see it a bit in this chapter but poor yuugi-boy has some duel-related trauma tm
> 
> kaiba's first duel with yami no yuugi was during the "the fanged card, part 1 and 2" chapters of the season zero manga, which in this timeline took place in about....mid-july, around a week or so before summer break. death-t took place on christmas eve, just before the start of winter break. this fic starts in around.....february, i believe? i'll say february 3, since that's a thursday lmao
> 
> also in this canon, idk if y'all remember, but yuugi went through monster world alone, since he didn't invite jou, honda was more jou's friend, and anzu wasn't talking to him at this point. monster world happened a few weeks before this fic starts, in mid to late january. ryou is currently in the hospital, for the hand trauma he gained from yami no bakura and the castle tower, so yuugi hasn't seen him since monster world.


End file.
